Lock



lll?

emma .my i7, 1923.

STATES mom c. cooran; or cmcaeo, mmora.

Lock. l

To all w/wm z't l concern.'

Be it known that I, THOMAS C. COOPER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Locks, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in locks and more particularly tolocks of the type primarily adapted for use in connection with.automobiles for the purpose of preventing any unauthorized removal ofthe spare tires carried thereby.

Cue object of the invention is to provide a lock of this character whichshall be of rugged design, simple in construction and operation andeconomical to manufacture; one which may be readily and quickly appliedand removed, and one wherein all of the, operating parts are completelyhoused in such wise as to render the same inaccessible, all rivets andother fastening `means being dispensed with.

Another object is to provide a lock' of the type described.y which shallbe designed to cooperate with the tire or its support tol which saidlock is applied in such manner that said tire or support will provide abarrier against any unauthorized tampering with the lockin mechanism andin suchmanner as to e ectively prevent any unauthorized removal of saidlock.

Cther objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription `taken 1n, connection with the accompanying drawings whereintwo forms of the invention are illustrated.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the lock showing the same as applied to aplurality of tires.

Fig. 2 is a lvertical longitudinal sectional View taken through thelock.

. Fi 3 is a rear plan view of the locking memer with the cover removed.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 4 4 of Fi 2.

ig. 5 is a view illustrating the lock as applied to a single tire andits support, and

Fig. 6 is a side elevation illustrating. a sli htly modified form oflock.

eferring more in detail to the drawings, the lock is shown as com risinga staple or U-shaped member 10, pre erably constructed of hardenedsteel. The Shanks or legs of the staple 10 are preferably serrated orprovided with a plurality of teeth as shown at screw-threaded plugs 24application mea July 1s, 191s. smal m. 245,447.

11, said Shanks being designed to project through a plurality ofapertured wings or lugs 12 disposed on oppositesides of the lock properwhich is designated as a whole as 13. The lock proper comprisespreferably Va malleable casting 14 which is designed to mechanism andwlth this in view said casting 1s provided with a suitable chamber 15adapted to receive said mechanism, the outer edges 16 of the side wallsof said chamber being preferably curved inwardly substantially asillustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawin pointe out. The end walls 17of the castlngl are preferably provided with suitable apertures 18through which the lockingbolts 19 are adapted to extend into engagementwith the serrations or teeth 11 provided on the shanks of the staple orU-shaped member rlhe bolts 19 are reduced as at 20 at their inner ends,said reduced portions being adapted to slidably engage within thesleeves 21 and being provided with oppositely projecting pins 22 whichare ldesigned to engage within the slots 23 provided in said sleeves 21in such wise as to limit the movements of said bolts in both directions.The inner ends of the sleeves 21 are provided with suitable betweenwhich the bolts 19 are adapted to urge normally mainplugs and the innerends of positioned coiled springs 25 said bolts outwardly and to tainthem in their projected positions substantially as shown in Fig. 2 ofthe drawings. The bolts 19 and the sleeves 21 are also preferablyconstructed of hardened steel so as to lend rigidity and strength to thelock and further, to provide against all for the purposes to behereinafter,y

attempts to break the lock or render it other-` wise ineffective by theuse of force.

The front wall of the casting 14 is preferably provided with a centralscrew-threaded aperture 26 adapted to receive a barrel or drum 27 whichis designed to contain the lock controlling mechanism (not shown) whichmay be of any suitable type, said barrel or drum being provided with theusual key opening in order that a key of special design may be insertedtherein for the purpose of mani ulating the. locking mechanism. Asuitablie set screw is shown at 28 which serves to maintain the barrelor drum 27 in its proper adjusted position.

The'barrel 27 is provided at vits inner end with a suitable rotatablemember 29 which is operatively connected in any suitable manner to themechanism housed within said w1/barrel and which is accordinglycontrolled and operated thereby upon a proper movel ment of the key.Attached in any suitable manner at opposite endsl of this rotatablemember 29 are toggle members 30, the outer ends of which are pivotallysecured by means of the screws 31 to the inner ends of the sleeves 21,as shown more clearly in Figs. 2\and3.

It is desirable to provide suitable guides for the sleeves 21 land withthis in view, it

is preferred to cast integral vwith the housing 14 suitable upstandinglugs 32 which are 'apertured as at,33 to receive said sleeves and 'topermit of them reciprocating therethrough. The cover plate for thelocking mechanism is shown at 34, the same being 2 preferably formed ofmetal of channel construction, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4, thesidesof said cover being designed to frictionally engage the sides of thehousing 14 so as to maintain said cover in position. The sides of theguiding lugs 32 terminate short of the sides ofthe housing 14 lin. orderto permit of the sides of the cover 34 reachingsubstantially to thebottom of thechamber 15 when in position. Itv will also be noted thatwhen the cover is in position theysame engages the lugs` 32 not only onthe sides thereof, but also on the top, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4.No means for holding the cover in position 35 other than the vfrictionalengagement of the sides thereof with the sides of the casting', need beprovided, as willv hereinafter a ar.

p'glie teeth or serrations 11 provided on the staple or U-sha-ped memberv10 of the lock are so designed thatA the locking member -pro r, .whichis designated `as 13, may be pus ed or moved inwardly in such wise thatthe bolts 19 lwill snap successively into the intervening recessesautomatically ,as a result of their being yieldingly urged -normallyoutwardly by means of `the coiled springs 25. In other words, nomanipulation of the lock controlling mechanism by means of the key isnecessary to effect` an engagement of the bolts with the teeth orserrations 11. On the other hand, however, it will be noted that itl isnecessary to manipulate the lock controlling mechanism by' means of thekey in order to retract or withdraw the bolts from engagement with theteeth or serrations 11 so that the lock'- ,ing member roper 13 may beremoved from the U-shape member 10 in order to` disassemble the lockwhen it is desired to remove the tire or tires held thereby. Thiswithdrawal of the bolts is eected by turning 'the key in the properdirection-whereupon the member 29 is rotated in. such, wise as to re-05' tract the sleeves l21 by means of the toggle -the purpose of lockingone or more tires to their supports without any change oralteration terein being necessitated. In Fig. 1 the lock is shown applied to aplurality of tires, said tires beingshown su ported in the usual mannerupon a vtire rac of the ordinary twin construction. When it is desiredto use the lock for the purpose of locking more than one tire, saidloc/k is referably applied in a substantially ho'rnnontal position asshown, whereas when the lock 1s used in connection with a sin le tire,it may be applied in a substantiallyl vertical position as shown moreclearly 1n Fig. 5 wherein one tire-is shown supported on the ordinaryexpansible ty of tire carrier. It is, of course, obvious t at whenapplied to a single tire and its su port the lock may be positionedhorizonta if desired, or in 95 any other position that may proveconvenient or advantageous. .0 j j In Fig. 6 the lock is shown as usedfor locking a tire to the rear part of the frame of the automobile andin order to render said lock adaptable'for such an application the topof the U-shapedf member or staple 10 is preferably angularly offsetfrom". the Shanks or legs thereof so that both `the tire and the framemay be securely and snu ly engaged in order to prevent any free p aybetween the lock` and the various parts embraced thereby.

From the above it is believed to be aparent that a lock has beenprovided which 1s not limited in its adaptation to the locking of tiresto` their supports or tire racks but one which may' also be used in thelocking of tires to the automobile itself or parts thereof and with thisin view it is to be understood that i't is within the contemplation ofthe present im rovements to so construct the staple or -shaped member 10as to permit of the spare tires being locked to any portion of theautomobile which may prove most advantageous. The lock has also provedvery effective in 'reventing thefts of automobiles vby loc ing one'ofthe front wheels thereof to the adjacent s ring or some'other part ofthe car. It wi Y, therefore, be apparent that the lock is not limitedinits use to tires but, on the other hand, is of much broader adaptationand may be used for many other urposes.

In applying the lock itis mere y-neces 130 i recipes y sary to positionthe staple'or U-shaped member over the tire or tires to be locked and tothen insert the shanks or legs thereof into the apertured wings or lugsl2 and move or push the locking member 13 up tightly against the tire orits support substantiall as shown in Fig. 1. As above described theinner edges of the'sides of the casting 14 are curved as at 16. Byreferring to Fig. 1 it will be noted that this permits of the lockingmember 13 readily adapting itself y to the cont/our of the tire rack ortire in contact. with which said locking member is moved. ln otherwords, the inwardly curved contour of the locking member 13 is to permitof its snugly fitting the tire or tire rack when said member is pushedinto firm contact therewith in which position it is securel held bymeans of the enga ment of t e bolts 19 with the teeth or serrationsprovided on the Shanks or leus of the U-shaped member 10. This, it wlllbe noted, not only renders the lock ri 'd when in its nal position butalso provi es means whreby the tire or rack, a einst which the lockingmember 13 is belg, e`ectively obstructs all access to the cover 34 andhence to the locking mechanism housed thereunder in the chamber of thecasting 14. Accordingly, it is unnecessary to provide any means forfastening the cover in position other than the sides thereof whichmaintain said cover against accidental dis lacement by frictionalengagement wit the sides of the casting, as above described. Theportionof the staple which contacts with the tire rack or other parts ofthe automobile is preferably covered with tubing of rubber, as shown iat35, or some other suitable material in order to prevent any marring orscratching of the parte or other similar injury.

n win be noted ty riefen-ing to rig.

1 of the drawings that the lock comprises no accessible or exposed partssuchras might aiord means whereby the lock could be broken, tamperedwith or otherwise impaired. or rendered ineti'ective. 'In other words, avery rugged and rigid lock is provided which may only be -removed b aproper manipulation of the lock control ing mechanism thereof by one inpossession of the key thereto.

It `is obvious .that various changes and modifications may be made inthe construction herein illustrated and describedand accordingly it isnot desired to restrict or limit the invention except where limitationsar in the appended claim.

I claim is f A ock comprising an embracing member provided with teeth, alocking member in the form of a one-piece casting adapted to lit saidembracing member and to be moved therealong into engagement with thearticle -to be clamped, a

chamber in -said casting, a plurality of guides integral with saidmember and projecting into said chamber, sleeves slidably mounted withinsaid guides, locking bolts slidably mounted in said slves, means foryieldingly maintaining said bolts normally projected through the endwalls of said member into engagement with the teeth of said embracingmember, means for limiting-the forward and reverse movements of saidbolts, key-controlled mechanism, means connecting said sleeves therewithwhereby said sleeves and bolts may be retracted, and a cover for saidthe side walls of said member bein designe to snugly fit the articleclampe whereby access to said cover andsaid parts is tively obstructed.

In testimony whereof I have subscribed my name.

Para .t

